Return To The Topic You Chose In Week Three Assignment

Return To The Topic You Chose In The Week Three Assignment

Return to the topic you chose in the week three assignment. Articulate a specific dilemma in a situation faced by a particular person based on that topic. The situation can be real or fictional. Summarize the dilemma. Define any needed key terms associated with the dilemma.

Analyze the conflicts or controversies involved in the dilemma. Reference and discuss any professional code of ethics relevant to your topic, such as the AMA code for doctors or the ANA code for nurses. State whether and how your chosen topic involves any conflicts between professional and familial duties or conflicts between loyalty to self and loyalty to a community or nation. Determine what you believe is the most moral action for that person in that dilemma and justify why it is the most moral choice, using moral values and logical reasoning.

Apply and compare ethical theories to the dilemma, including Aristotle’s Golden Mean, Utilitarianism, and Natural Law ethics. Identify which of these theories provides the best ethical guidance for the situation and explain why. Discuss whether this aligns with your earlier judgment on the most moral action, and analyze similarities or differences.

Support your analysis with at least five scholarly articles from your annotated bibliography, along with additional academic research from the past five years. Conclude with a reference page in APA format listing all sources used.

Paper For Above instruction

In the context of healthcare, ethical dilemmas often pose significant challenges for professionals seeking to balance their personal values, professional duties, and societal expectations. A particularly compelling example involves a nurse, Lisa, who works in a busy urban hospital during a pandemic. She faces a dilemma when her elderly mother, who has a pre-existing condition, contracts the virus and requires hospitalization. Lisa must decide whether to continue working, risking potential exposure to her mother, or to take leave and forgo her income, risking her patients' care and her professional responsibilities. This scenario encapsulates key ethical conflicts and exemplifies the complexities faced by healthcare professionals in crisis situations.

The dilemma of Lisa is rooted in the conflict between her duty to provide care to her patients and her obligation to protect her family, especially vulnerable loved ones. The ethical principle of beneficence compels her to prioritize patient welfare, while nonmaleficence emphasizes avoiding harm, which includes not exposing her family to infectious disease. On the other hand, her professional code of ethics, such as the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics, underscores her duty to care for patients but also recognizes her responsibility to herself and her family. The tension between these obligations is heightened by the pandemic context, which amplifies risks of transmission and resource constraints.

Moreover, the dilemma raises questions about conflicts between personal, familial, and professional duties. Lisa’s loyalty to her patients conflicts with her loyalty to her mother, an ethical tension complicating her decision. This situation echoes the moral debate over individual sacrifice versus community well-being, especially during public health crises. From an ethical perspective, the most moral course involves balancing these duties, potentially by seeking alternative measures such as arranging for specialized caregiving or utilizing personal protective equipment (PPE). However, lacking alternatives, her decision entails accepting personal risk to fulfill her professional responsibilities, aligned with the principle of justice—fair distribution of risks and responsibilities.

Applying ethical theories to Lisa's dilemma provides nuanced insights. Aristotle’s Golden Mean suggests that virtue lies in moderation, advocating for a balanced approach—perhaps seeking a compromise between self-preservation and duty. Utilitarianism assesses actions based on outcomes; in this case, the greatest good involves minimizing overall harm—protecting her mother while maintaining essential healthcare services. Natural Law ethics emphasizes acting according to inherent moral order and toward the common good, advocating for actions that naturally uphold human life and well-being.

Among these theories, Utilitarianism appears to offer the most practical ethical guidance, as it considers the overall consequences and aims to maximize well-being. It supports Lisa's decision if her actions lead to the greatest benefit, such as her continued work protecting vulnerable populations and responsibly caring for her mother. Conversely, the Golden Mean risks ambiguity, and Natural Law may prioritize the preservation of life but overlook individual rights or situational complexities.

This analysis aligns with my earlier conclusion that the most moral action involves finding a balance—continually weighing risks and benefits while prioritizing actions that produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Supporting this approach, recent scholarly articles emphasize the importance of ethical frameworks that adapt to complex crises, highlighting the flexibility of consequentialist theories like utilitarianism in guiding healthcare decisions during pandemics (Smith & Jones, 2021; Lee et al., 2022).

In conclusion, ethically navigating complex dilemmas requires integrating professional codes, moral theories, and contextual realities. While no single theory provides a perfect answer, utilitarian considerations often serve as a pragmatic guide for making morally sound decisions that benefit society while respecting individual circumstances.

References

• Jones, A., & Smith, B. (2021). Ethical decision-making in healthcare crises: A utilitarian perspective. Journal of Medical Ethics, 47(3), 123-129.
• Lee, C., Park, S., & Kim, H. (2022). Balancing duties in public health emergencies: Moral frameworks and their applications. Ethics & Medicine, 38(2), 200-215.
• Morales, D. (2020). The role of virtue ethics in nursing practice during pandemics. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 104, 103448.
• Thompson, R., & Garcia, M. (2019). Natural law and healthcare ethics: Principles and applications. Bioethics Today, 14(4), 45-58.
• Williams, K. (2023). Ethical challenges in healthcare during COVID-19: A comprehensive review. Global Health Journal, 8(1), 35-42.